The wave nature of light is crucial to understanding phenomena that involve the bending and spreading of light waves.
1. Step 1: Analyze the wave properties.
- Reflection and refraction can be explained by the ray model of light, which does not require the wave nature of light.
- Diffraction is the phenomenon where light waves bend around obstacles and spread out through narrow openings. This behavior is characteristic of wave motion and can only be explained using the wave theory of light.
- Absorption refers to the transfer of energy from light to matter, which does not directly relate to wave behavior.
Thus, the correct answer is Diffraction.